As It Should Be (Back where you belong)
by Diana Prallon
Summary: Merlin believed no more, cared no more, hoped no more. Until the dragon rose in the sky.


**As It Should Be (Back Where You Belong)**

 _ **Eu encontrei quando n**_ _ **ão quis**_

 _I found it when I didn't want_

 _ **Mais procurar o meu amor**_

 _To look for my love anymore_

 _ **E o quanto levou, foi pr' eu merecer**_

 _And how long it took, was so that I'd deserve it_

 _ **Antes um m**_ _ **ês, eu já não sei**_

 _A month earlier, I'm not so sure..._

Hope is a privilege of mortals.

Once years become decades, decades become centuries, and centuries become millenniums, hoping is as foolish as believing.

He had stopped believing long ago, sunk into the inevitability of his long, long life.

There was nothing that could bring his King back — even if he was meant to return one day — and it was his fault, his fault alone. He was had failed his destiny, and Albion had fallen.

From the world where they had lived, there was almost nothing left.

The hills still stood, immortal like him. But even the lake had dried under the hands of men.

As dry as his heart, as the wandered alone through a world where nothing could offer comfort.

The lights had gone out when Arthur's eyes closed for the last time, and everything since them was but a long twilight that he couldn't avoid.

He kept his vigil, because there was nothing else left undone in the world for him. He had seen civilisations rise and fall, all sorts of leaders and villains, he had seen himself and all those he loved — all those he hated — becoming but a legend, a tale that children heard but never truly believed.

In that, they were the same.

Merlin believed no more, cared no more, hoped no more.

Until the dragon rose in the sky.

In his long life, he had learnt a lot. He was no young warlock, and he knew all that was to know about the stars — about comets and how they worked.

And yet — _yet —_ he couldn't deny the magic that lived inside him, or the way it pulsed when it started approaching the sky.

It was no mere star; no simple comet. It shone in gold in the midst of a cloud of red, a perfect dragon, drawn as a banner he hadn't seen in more years than he cared to count.

Suddenly, hope sprang anew.

 _ **E at**_ _ **é quem me vê**_

 _And even who sees me_

 _ **Lendo jornal, na fila do p**_ _ **ão**_

 _Reading the news, buying some food_

 _ **Sabe que eu te encontrei**_

 _Knows that I've found you_

 _ **E quem dir**_ _ **á que é tarde demais?**_

 _And who will say that it's too late?_

 _ **Que**_ _ **é tão diferente assim?**_

 _That it is as different as it is?_

 _ **Do nosso amor, a gente**_ _ **é quem sabe, pequena.**_

 _We are the the ones who know of our love, sweetheart_

In the end, it was simple — so simple.

Like slots coming into place, like pieces of a puzzle that even after so long apart, couldn't help but fit again perfectly.

Arthur is still a King, even if he has no crown. He is, also, still a prat.

It brought it all back to him: his powers, his hopes, his youth — and, almost unbelievably, his smile.

Merlin knew he looked like a lunatic, going through every day chores as with a grin that could split his face in half, but he did not care.

He is back — and suddenly, everything is back with him — feelings that he had long accepted and buried, sounds he had forgotten and remembered, smells he had drowned in and left behind.

It seemed impossible that the whole world doesn't know that he is back — the once and future king, stepping in the same streets all those people did.

But, of course they knew — on some level — because all parts of him exulted in it, drowning the world in magic once again; finally out of the crystal cave that his heart had become.

It may be far too much — far too mystical or far too profound for them to understand. It was nothing like the movies — no immediate hugs, no kissing under the rain, no mere tears. It was nothing like the stories — no mere friendship, no mentoring, no guidance. It may be too much of all things, mixed together in one, on an all-encompassing feeling that changed the world without meaning to.

Still, it was also very much like any other relationship in human life: good days and bad days, highs and lows, accusations, tears, guilt, joy, pleasure.

Merlin didn't mind that no one else could fully understand it — understand him, understand _them_ — they are, once again, at once and that is all that matters.

 _ **Ah vai,**_

 _Come on,_

 _ **Me diz o que**_ _ **é o sufoco**_

 _Tell me what is tough_

 _ **Que eu te mostro algu**_ _ **ém**_

 _That I'll show you someone_

 _ **A fim de te acompanhar**_

 _Willing to follow you_

 _ **E se o caso for de ir a praia**_

 _And if we'll go to the shore_

 _ **Eu levo essa casa numa sacola**_

 _I'll take this house in a pouch_

There is no crisis, no urgent need, nothing that summoned Arthur back to the living. There is no war, no need for a leader, no need for anything. It was as if universe had simply gotten tired of waiting and decided to spit him back, exactly the same as the day where he had been sent to Avalon.

Then again, every single hour is a crisis in itself: it is not easy for a man to suddenly step out of a place, hundreds of years in the future. Arthur didn't know the first thing about living in a modern era, and everything was cause for frustration and difficulty. He didn't recognise the language, he didn't trust things that were commonplace. Merlin, who had spent most of his youth trying to protect him from knowing anything that might hurt his feelings, was put in a position where he couldn't protect Arthur from his feelings — from himself. Yet, he never wavered, ready to stand by his side every step of the way, the same way he had done before.

There was no challenge they couldn't face now that they were back together.

Except, perhaps, the challenge of sharing their own feelings, their own thoughts.

Neither had ever been particularly good with words. Age hadn't helped much in that.

Merlin was ready to follow, to keep things as they were — safe, warm, friendly — but it was impossible. For all that he tried to run away from acknowledging it, Arthur wasn't one to let things undone.

So, he had no choice but to follow were he led — to intertwined hands and touching lips, to blushing cheeks and harsh breaths.

 _This_ was not a choice he could regret.

 _ **Eu encontrei-a e quis duvidar**_

 _I've found it and wanted to doubt_

 _ **Tanto clich**_ _ **ê, deve não ser**_

 _Such a cliche, it can't be_

 _ **Voc**_ _ **ê me falou, pr'eu não me preocupar**_

 _You told me not to worry_

 _ **Ter f**_ _ **é e ver coragem no amor**_

 _To have faith and see courage in love_

Even as his magic pulsed on the same beat of the shining star, he doubted it. This couldn't be it — couldn't be the moment where Arthur returned. It couldn't be that simple — that obvious.

And yet, there he was.

Glorious, in chainmail and armour, golden hair shining red under the light that led him back there — back to where Avalon had once been.

There was a smile in the King's face as he spotted his former servant, a light in his eyes.

And Merlin — he couldn't handle it, couldn't take it. He fell to his knees, sobs robbing him of breath as he cried the tears he swore that had been dried centuries before. He couldn't see, he couldn't believe, not until the knight knelled in front of him and wrapped him in his arms.

" Shh" he had said, his voice soft and oh-so-familiar. "Just hold me — again."

And Merlin did.

 _ **E s**_ _ **ó de te ver, eu penso em trocar**_

 _And from just looking at you, I think about trading_

 _ **A minha tv, num jeito de te levar**_

 _My TV in a way of taking you_

 _ **A qualquer lugar que voc**_ _ **ê queira**_

 _Anywhere you want might wish_

 _ **E ir onde o vento for**_

 _And go where the wind goes_

 _ **Que pra n**_ _ **ós dois**_

 _That for the two of us_

 _ **Sair de casa j**_ _ **á é se aventurar**_

 _Leaving the house is already an adventure_

Everything Merlin had ever dreamed of had become true — and what else can one want after it? As he watched the sunrise's light trickling through the window and kissing Arthur's naked body — alive, _so_ alive — Merlin found out that he could, indeed, want more.

He wanted Arthur to see it all — to have it all. All the world, all wonders that he hadn't been able to enjoy. All the life had hadn't been able to have the first time around.

Arthur was there, next to him, and he trusted him, knew all about him, believed in him, and, miracle of miracles, _loved_ him.

There was _nothing_ he wouldn't do for Arthur — nothing he would say no to. And if that resulted in ridiculous, often hilarious activities, so be it.

It was an adventure, the one they had never gotten to have the first time around.

The adventure of peace — the adventure of following your heart and nothing else.

The adventure of them.

 _ **Ah vai,**_

 _Come on,_

 _ **Me diz o que**_ _ **é o sufoco**_

 _Tell me what is tough_

 _ **Que eu te mostro algu**_ _ **ém**_

 _That I'll show you someone_

 _ **A fim de te acompanhar**_

 _Willing to follow you_

 _ **E se tempo for te levar**_

 _And if time decides to take you away_

 _ **Eu sigo essa hora e pego carona**_

 _I'll follow your hour and take a ride_

 _ **Pra te acompanhar**_

 _To be by your side_

Years pass them by, much faster than the centuries before had been. Together, they see the world.

They visit the seven wonders of the world, ancient and new. They explore different cultures, different people. They even risk leaving the planet altogether — if only to decide it isn't that fun.

They spend all days together, every single hour — even when they are angry, even when they are fighting. It can never be enough, the thirst for each other can never be fully sated, not while there is life in their bodies. They lay together for hours in silence, limbs wrapped around each other, like an alive Christmas gift.

One day — decades and decades later, Merlin sees it for the first time.

There are new lines in Arthur's face, around his eyes, over his forehead. And there, right next to an old scar, there is a silver line tainting the gold.

His heart clenches at the idea of losing him again, the idea of being once again alone, roaming around the universe with nothing to wait for this time — but Arthur just laugh his fears away.

With a heart stopping smile and a gentle nudge, he shows Merlin himself in the mirror.

After all these years, his reflection is that of a stranger — but there is no denying the tell-tale signs in his own hair, strands of grey he had never developed without magic to change his face.

"You're not getting rid of me this time" Arthur murmurs, nuzzling his ear, and Merlin's heart almost bursts with love and relief.

"No — no" he agrees. "I'm coming right with you."

This time, they would leave together.

(And together they stayed even well beyond — through death, and life, and death and life again — never stopping, never parting — as it should be with two sides org a single coin).


End file.
